The village government of Sand Lake, Michigan, is threatened with dissolution. As you might expect, those facing the chopping block are crying foul.

How’s this for overblown rhetoric? “This is domestic terrorism. It’s an attack on small town USA. I have a personal anger against these people. Their purpose is not the good of the village,” says village president Kirk Thielke.

Just imagine the carnage, the horror: “There are just so many things that aren’t being considered. No one would plow our parking lots. Who would do leaf pickup?”

What do the proponents of the ballot measure to “disincorporate” Sand Lake have to say?

“We used to shovel on our own. We could all put in and hire someone to do it. It would cost a lot less. And the same thing with the leaves,” contends Toni Bush, 60, an owner of a local bar and a 40-year resident of Sand Lake.

Self-sufficiency rather than dependence on bloated local government sounds pretty good to me. And I do hope that, as one commenter notes, this is a “harbinger” of things facing local governments across this nation.

We’ve had a lot of requests recently for the audio of Rev. Sirico’s lecture on social justice. We’re posting a recording of his April 15 Acton Lecture Series presentation, “Does Social Justice Require Socialism?” In this talk, he addresses the increasing calls for government intervention in financial market regulation, health care, education reform, and economic stimulus in the name of “social justice.”

Watch for more ALS audio on the blog in the days ahead.

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